Cats blow out cobwebs

THE scoreline may look disappointing, but the final margin was of little concern to Geelong VFL coach Shane O’Bree.

The Cats first pre-season hit-out culminated in a 49-point loss to Essendon, however O’Bree said there was plenty to take away from Central Reserve in Colac.

“I think the squad we had today, there was a fair few young guys playing their first ever VFL game probably a dozen guys playing their first Geelong VFL game. It was good to get it out of the way,” he said.

“All the things we’ve been during the pre-season with structures and attack and defence, when it comes to the real stuff you’ve got to do it 10 seconds quicker than what you do at training.

“So, it was good for the boys to realise it’s a bit higher intensity than what GFL is.

“And from an AFL perspective, I thought our boys that did play tried to implement everything they’ve been working on over the pre-season.”

Rookie Jack Henry found himself playing at both ends of the ground and played arguably one of his best games.

“He impacted both in the air and on the ground, and his intensity and intent all day was really good,” O’Bree said.